Weapons recovered following Billerica school lockdown

Weapons stolen from a home in Wilmington were recovered following a threat made against Shawsheen Technical Vocational High School that led to a lockdown Friday afternoon.

Max Bowen

Weapons stolen from a home in Wilmington were recovered following a threat made against Shawsheen Technical Vocational High School that led to a lockdown Friday afternoon.

A joint statement written by Billerica Police Chief Dan Rosa and Shawsheen Superintendent/Director Charles Lyons said weapons were recovered following an investigation by Billerica and Wilmington Police. Information gained from this investigation led police to a house break in Wilmington in which a number of firearms were stolen. Some of those involved with the house break were Shawsheen students.

Wilmington Deputy Police Chief Robert Richter said all the stolen firearms have been recovered. He said students from Wilmington were identified as being involved in this incident, and were not in attendance today (Monday), when school resumed as normal. Richter declined to identify the students or the types of weapons recovered, citing an ongoing investigation.

“Officially, no charges have been filed at this time,” Richter said.

Police received information on a threat made against the school at 11 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 24. Officers from several towns arrived to secure the scene, and the school was locked down shortly thereafter. At 2 p.m., students were allowed to leave after passing through a metal detector.

“Although students may notice an increased security presence on Monday morning, we anticipate a normal school day,” wrote Lyons and Rosa in the statement.

No weapons or ammunition were found on school grounds. A sweep of the school was conducted on Friday and throughout the weekend.